The prior art is replete with examples of wrap dispensing and cutting devices, the purpose for which is to cut or section an unwound length of a packaging or covering type material. The most commonplace of such devices are typically provided as generally elongated and rectangular shaped packaging within which is held a suitable roll of material. A shelf edge of the packaging, typically revealed upon pivotally opening an associated lid, includes a serrated knife-edge such that, upon unwinding the desired length of packaging, the wrap may be biased against the knife edge and the unwound section removed.
Shortcomings associated with the conventionally known knife-edged packaging include the incidence of the unwound packaging not severing properly and/or becoming bunched or folded together. With particular regards again to such conventional types of packaging, this can result in the sectioned packaging being substantially rendered useless.
Accordingly, attempts have been made in the relevant art to improve upon the sectioning and removal of such conventional packaging materials. One example of this is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,023, issued to Chen, and which teaches a plastic wrap dispenser with a battery-operated cutting device adapted for cutting a section of thin plastic wrap from the roll. The cutting device is fixed on a mount and is able to be slidably moved along a fixed track by way of a transmission mechanism activated by a battery-powered motor.
A further example of a manually operable sectioning device is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 6,223,639, issued to Chen, and which teaches an aluminum foil safety fixture which utilizes a slide plate for gradually separating the foil. The slide plate includes arched pressing edge, fitted to a push unit installed with at least one pair of slide pressing rollers, and movably assembled in a slide rail associated with a main base unit. A supporting plate extends from the main base unit and a clasp plate can be directly fitted to a wall of the aluminum foil packaging box to facilitate unwinding and sectioning of lengths thereof.
Similar to Chen U.S. Pat. No. 6,223,639, other and additional examples of film cutting devices include U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,559, issued to Capitao, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,961, issued to Lucas, Jr., each of which include a track mechanism of some sort mounted in lengthwise extending fashion to an exposed shelf edge of a conventional packaging and including a type of button configured sectioning blade for traversing the length of the track mechanism over which is laid the packaging.
Finally, an additional set of prior art references teach cutter assemblies in which a slide cutter according to some configuration is built into a housing, in turn configured to hold a roll of the wrap material. Examples of such assemblies include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,481, issued to Schuler, U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,774, issued to Singh et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,382, issued to Baker.